Ten members of the Western Region of the CKG Billings Amateur Driving Series convened at Northfield Park on Wednesday evening, May 24, for a trotting contest and when it was declared official, “Tiny Tim” Miller walked off with the trophy after he reined Song In My Heart to a solid three and a quarter length victory over Heza Rube and driver Bob “Lumberman” Troyer.
Miller made short work of his triumph when he gunned the six-year-old son of Cantab Hall for the lead from the four-hole and took command on the first turn, and in doing so, they circled co-favourite Star Chip, driven by Gregg “Fast Greggy” Keidel.
As the field headed to the halfway point, Keep The Cash and Pat “the Write Stuff” Miller were hung on the limb from the start and looking for a spot down along the pylons. But no one would allow her any space so she was relegated to a fresh-air trip.
As the field headed to the third station, Song In My Heart couldn’t shake off the parked-out Keep The Cash and they raced one-two as the timer flashed 1:31.1. However. from there it was all Song In My Heart as the veteran trotter began to shrug off Keep The Cash and then open daylight on the field.
At the wire, Miller’s charge was a three and a quarter length winner over Bob Troyer’s Heza Rube in a 2:01.1 clocking. And even after being parked the entire mile, Keep the Cash finished third just four lengths behind the winner.
Song In My Heart is owned by Bert Hershberger and trained by JD Wengerd. He returned a $4.60 win mutuel. For “Tiny Tim,” the win marked his fourth seasonal driving victory and the 40th of his amateur driving career.
Billings action continues tomorrow (May 25) with an Eastern Region trot at Yonkers Raceway.
(With files from Billings Series)